Ties
by ThatOneGoodWriter
Summary: A shadowhunter one-shot based on the song by Zayn Malik and Sia, "Dusk Till Dawn". Clace. Post series.


_Not tryna be indie_

_Not tryna be cool_

He watched blankly as she looped her arms around Simon's shoulders and heaved upwards. She was too short, he thought. Simon barked out a laugh and lowered himself to a kneeling position so that she could get on his back.

Isabelle was video taping on her phone, giggling softly, her inky hair shaking. Simon had gifted her the device on her birthday after hearing that she'd never used one before. It took her a few weeks, but eventually, she was communicating with friends from across the globe, chirping about fashion and of course, demons.

_Just tryna be in this_

He glanced at his watch. They were heading on another mission. Alec was supposed to be on his way, but he was running late. He curled up his hands and trudged briskly away from the group, every so often checking the light on his sensor.

_Tell me how you choose_

"Jace!" It was Isabelle, jogging towards him with her phone in hand. He rolled his eyes and cursed Alec's lack of punctuality. In the distance, he could hear Clary shouting something to rat-face, presumably a joke or insult. He avoided staring in her direction and finally gave his sister the attention she craved.

She pouted. "Stop being such a buzz kill and hang out with us." She waved her phone dramatically. A video of Clary and Simon toppling on the grass was being played.

He quirked an eyebrow. "This isn't a party. We're hunting demons. Act like it, Isabelle."

Before she could retort back angrily, Simon and Clary appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Behind them was an apologetic Alec, his pale cheeks pink. No doubt a result of his continued companionship with Magnus Bane.

"Is everybody ready?" He nodded towards their bodies, where their weapons had to be attached. It was Clary's eyes he met when he stared directly forward. The intensity of her gaze made him look for a distraction. "You got your arrows, rat-face?"

Simon sent him a dirty look.

_Can you feel why you're in this?_

_Can you feel it through? _

They were in a strip club. Remarkably. Demons loved to show up in crowded places. He smirked when Alec tried to sidestep an older woman wearing only a bra and panties. His sensor kept buzzing in his pocket, increasing his already high adrenaline. From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Clary pulling out her spear. She had chosen it months before and he had been the one who trained her, alongside an excited Luke. He wanted so badly to switch from Alec's side to hers. Just to protect her. He shook his head, grabbing a drink from a sexy server.

Simon scoffed. "Aren't you not supposed to be drunk before fighting for your life?"

Jace grinned and mumbled, "Gotta be a little drunk to ignore her."

_All of the windows_

_Inside this room_

He watched as Clary sat down on a table with a few older men. His jaw clenched, but he knew he had to act natural. He grabbed another glass of something fizzy and swayed slightly on his feet to the music. Isabelle was chatting with a stripper, laughing and talking loudly. He found Simon watching Clary carefully and nudged him harshly. He yelped, "What?!"

"Stop making it obvious. You're gonna ruin it."

Simon huffed but turned away swiftly, suddenly absorbed with some game on his phone.

_Cause I wanna touch you baby_

_And I wanna feel you, too_

Clary had her index finger in between her lips, biting gently. She was leaning towards the eidolon that was giving her the most interest. He was tall and to Jace's dismay, not unappealing. Jace had to grip his seat tightly when the demon twisted a curl of Clary's hair and whispered something in her ear.

"Fuck." Jace cursed, downing a bottle this time. It tasted like whiskey. He wondered when the eidolons would follow Clary like the filthy dogs they were.

Then he watched her stand up, her short dress swinging in the air slightly. The men were paying her so much attention, the strippers were placed firmly in the background. When she passed by his table, she pressed something in his palm. He reveled in the warmth of her skin. It did wonders to his mind. It was a crumbled piece of paper. It read:

**In one of the lap dance rooms. Bring my spear. **

He rose to his feet and glanced for Isabelle. She found him immediately and off they went, their hands on their weapons.

Once they were away from the pounding music and the purs of professional dancers, it was easier to communicate. He beckoned Alec forward when they entered a dark hall. "Simon, Izzy. Check room 1 and 2. Alec and I will check the other three."

_I wanna see the sunrise and your sins_

_Just me and you_

He slammed open a door while Alec covered him from behind. He scowled when all he found was a young woman pouncing on a chair where an old man lay. He heard the distinct yell of Simon coming closer. "She's not in either room!"

Jace's veins pulsed. The hold on his dagger was tight and unrelenting. She was in room 3. He didn't even check rooms 4 and 5. He had a feeling. Isabelle released a breath when she reached them. She brought out her whip, glistening even when there wasn't any light.

Alec kicked down the door with a shout and let them in before he pulled one of his arrows back in preparation.

_Light it up_

_On the run_

Jace took in the scene. Something in his chest tightened. When shadowhunters were trained as children, they were told never to show their emotions in a fighting situation. Any sign of weakness could mean losing their lives. You didn't want to give the enemy something to hold against you.

Jace disregarded everything he was taught. He wasn't a shadowhunter in that moment. He was energy. Swift and unrelenting. Nobody could chase him. Nobody could possibly see him. He was gone before they could observe any of his features.

_Let's make love, tonight_

Simon took in the scene. He was backing Alec with a bow and some arrows. These weren't just eidolons. They were backed by hellhounds and raums. He was only able to identify them after racking his brain trying to remember the lessons Isabelle had taught him on demonology. He watched as Jace pounced on one of the men, like a lion. The tip of his dagger shined before plunging into soft flesh.

Isabelle screamed, high pitched and alert, "Clary!"

She was bloodied and her dress was torn. Whatever had happened before the group entered had nearly killed her. She still managed to catch her spear when it was thrown to her by her friend. A hellhound gathered itself in front of her. She removed her hand from the wound on her bare waist. She surveyed the dog and stepped forward, swinging her spear in an arc.

The hellhound growled, its red orbs murderous.

Jace was half paying attention to the two eidolons creeping towards him and half focused on Clary's condition. It took all that was in him not to run in her direction and rip the head off of the hellhound.

_Make it up, fall in love, try_

Clary had broken up with him two months prior.

It was mainly his fault, but he had never suspected her to end things.

He waved a hand through the smoke in the room. It was clogging his nostrils and blurring his vision. Probably poison.

_But you'll never be alone_

After the breakup, it was Isabelle who had suddenly defended Clary's choice instead of backing her younger brother. He was in his bedroom and he was pretending to read a book when she waltzed in, her heels clicking on the hardwood flooring. "Whats up with you now, huh?"

He hadn't responded and she had continued because she was Isabelle and that's what she did. "I thought we were over this, Jace. The war, the daddy shit." She licked her lips. "Now you're backing away from her for no reason."

Jace cleared his throat. "Are you done?"

His sister smiled, bitter. "Don't come running back when she's clinging to someone that isn't you."

_I'll be with you from dusk till dawn_

The eidolons were gone. Back to the depths of hell where they belonged.

Clary shoved her spear into the gaping mouth of the hellhound and was disgusted when drops of blood landed on her arms. The creature vanished.

She winced. She couldn't find Isabelle or Simon. She hoped they were alright. She grabbed her spear, and before she could swing it protectively around herself, she fell to the ground, her knees giving out.

_I'll be with you from dusk till dawn_

"Where the fuck is she?" He shouted to Isabelle, who was using her whip to ward off the tentacles of a pair of raums.

"I don't know. Probably in the back." She grunted and sliced a tentacle down.

He slashed his way through the mess of demons, not allowing anything to get in his way. His dagger burned and the stench of burning flesh kept him on edge. He had to find her.

_Baby, I'm right here_

It was only when he heard her whimper that he realized her location.

He didn't need to call her name.

He found her collapsed on the ground, inching away from a hellhound that sought her attention. Jace swiped her spear and threw it with all he could. He wasn't as accurate as Clary, but the sharp metal pierced through the dog's legs and sent it howling.

He felt the warm blood trickling from her dress down to her legs. It was a deep wound. He tugged out his stele from his pocket. "Clary! Clary..." He kept repeating her name, hoping she'd stay conscious. All he needed to do was draw a healing rune.

_I'll hold you when things go wrong_

_I'll be with you from dusk till dawn_

Her olive eyes hovered open and shut. Around them, weapons flew and crimson blood dropped. "Jace." She managed to mutter, her cheeks unusually rosy.

He took her bare arm and flipped it to the exposed skin where her marks were. "Jace." She said again, this time a little firmer.

He drew the rune. Watched it light up. Then it darkened. Nothing happened.

"Jace." She coughed.

_I'll be with you from dusk till dawn_

_Baby, I'm right here _

He pressed her body to his. She was hot. Burning. He pushed them towards the wall, shoved in one of the corners of the room. "Shit." He drew the rune again, this time on her other arm.

"Jace." Her breath tickled his hair. "It wasn't just an-an eidolon." She groaned, short and painful. "He bit me."

Waves crashed in his ears.

_I'll be with you from dusk till dawn_

_Baby, I'm right here_

He lifted her up, careful not to touch her seeping wound. She released a small noise of discomfort before remaining quiet. He ran past a raum and watched idly as Alec and Isabelle kept it busy so that a path was clear for them.

It was Simon who found them, a few scratches on his face, but otherwise unharmed. He didn't ask any questions. "I'll drive."

_We were shut like a jacket_

_So do your zip_

They were in the back seats of Simon's van as Simon recklessly drove through the bustling streets of Manhattan past midnight. Clary was breathing softly, head lying on his lap. He was running his fingers through her curls, mumbling her name like a prayer.

_We will roll down the rapids_

_To find a wave that fits_

Clary moaned, clutching at his palm with small fingers. He bent his head down so that their foreheads touched. "Clary, are you listening to me?" His voice was shaking. He swallowed.

_Can you feel where the wind is?_

_Can you feel it through?_

She didn't give him any sign.

He brought his lips to her cheek. Kissed it feverishly. "Tell me to stop." He choked on a sob. "Tell me we're not together."

"Please."

He begged.

Jace Herondale never begged.

"Please."

"Please."

Her eyelids opened, not fully, but enough for him to see a glint of green. "Don't stop." She whispered urgently. Hearing her speak made his throat close up. She raised her hand, trembling, and touched his face.

He sobbed.

_All of the windows_

_Inside in this room_

_TWO WEEKS LATER_

She was in the infirmary.

Healed and poised to return to full health.

_Cause I wanna touch you, baby_

_And I wanna feel you, too_

They hadn't spoken since.

He hadn't even visited her.

_I wanna see the sunrise and your sins_

_Just me and you_

"Bring him here." Clary told Isabelle, who was sitting on the edge of her bed.

Isabelle sent her a sympathetic smile and squeezed her hand.

_Light it up, on the run_

_Let's make love tonight_

Two hours passed.

Then she saw him enter.

_Make it up, fall in love, try_

He sat as far away as he could from her on the bed.

She noticed.

There were dark circles under his golden eyes.

She noticed.

_But you'll never be alone_

_I'll be with you from dusk till dawn_

Her voice cracked when she asked, "Don't you miss me? At all?"

_I'll be with you from dusk till dawn _

_Baby, I'm right here_

He peered up, his long, tawny locks sliding into his face. "Always." His answer was raw, his voice husky and tired.

_I'll hold you when things go wrong_

_I'll be with you from dusk till dawn_

She struggled to straighten up and he gently pushed her downwards. They were close enough to kiss now and it was getting difficult to restrict himself. "I'm here. I've always been here."

_I'll be with you from dusk till dawn_

_Baby, I'm right here_

Clary wiped her nose with the back of her hand. She released a breath and with new found courage, raised her fingers to his hair.

He leaned into her touch.

She laughed while crying.

**[a/n]: I'm getting back to writing! I'll be updating stories soon. Here's a one-shot to get started. Review if you're able to. xx **


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